Middle School Social Studies Teacher

Catherine Cook School•Chicago, IL

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Catherine Cook School is seeking a Middle School Social Studies Teacher to join their vibrant and inclusive learning community. This full-time, 10-month position is located in Chicago, IL, and is on-site. The teacher will be responsible for strengthening the middle school division, grade level teams, and the Social Studies Department through thoughtful inquiry, collaborative energy, and a deep commitment to student voice and ethical engagement. The role involves inquiry-driven instruction, meaningful dialogue, and active participation in curriculum development to cultivate a cohesive, inclusive, and intellectually vibrant learning environment. The teacher will partner with colleagues, engage families, and build trusting relationships with students to support the school's mission of developing informed, empathetic, and engaged citizens. The position also includes contributing to the school community through weekly duties, administrative tasks, professional development, community building, and serving as an ambassador for enrollment management and development efforts. The ideal candidate will embody a learner-centered, inquiry-based mindset, be a collaborator, a facilitator of historical thinking and ethical reflection, promote visible thinking and discourse-rich classrooms, be a metacognitive and reflective educator, and demonstrate a commitment to equity, identity, and belonging.

Requirements

Dynamic Social Studies educator who believes that young adolescents are capable of deep historical thinking, ethical reasoning, and nuanced perspective taking.
Experience designing classrooms where students question narratives, examine evidence, wrestle with complexity, and engage in respectful dialogue about the human experience, past and present.
Grounded in the Facing History and Ourselves framework and discipline-based historical thinking practices.
Prioritizes inquiry, reflection, and connection over memorization.
Sees themselves as a facilitator of meaning making and civic identity.
Values curiosity over coverage, questions over answers, and understanding over recall.
Approaches teaching as the design of rich learning experiences that invite students to think critically, act ethically, and contribute thoughtfully to their communities.
Learner-Centered and Inquiry-Based Mindset.
Collaboration skills.
Facilitator of Historical Thinking and Ethical Reflection.
Visible Thinking and Discourse-Rich Classrooms.
Metacognition.
Commitment to Equity, Identity, and Belonging.
Reflective and Growth-Oriented Educator.
Relevant experience and relevant degrees.
Ability to demonstrate core qualifications through a combination of both non-traditional and traditional personal and professional experiences.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Google and Outlook Applications for individual and team collaboration and communication.

Responsibilities

Strengthen the Cook community by bringing thoughtful inquiry, collaborative energy, and a deep commitment to student voice and ethical engagement to the Middle School division, Grade Level Teams, and the Social Studies Department.
Cultivate a cohesive, inclusive, and intellectually vibrant learning environment through inquiry-driven instruction, meaningful dialogue, and active participation in curriculum development.
Support Cook’s mission of developing informed, empathetic, and engaged citizens who understand both the past and their role in shaping the future by partnering closely with colleagues, engaging families, and building trusting relationships with students.
Connect with and care for students and colleagues through weekly duties and administrative tasks.
Grow as a life-long learner through active participation in meetings and professional development opportunities.
Apply skills as supported by training and protocols for proactive and responsive community building.
Proactively and reflectively communicate through various platforms the vision, goals, and progress of your work with both internal and external collaborators.
Grow our culture of belonging and wellness through active participation in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and social-emotional learning (SEL) efforts.
Serve as an Ambassador for our Enrollment Management and Development efforts.
Employ Google and Outlook Applications for individual and team collaboration and communication.
Design classrooms where students question narratives, examine evidence, wrestle with complexity, and engage in respectful dialogue about the human experience, past and present.
Prioritize inquiry, reflection, and connection over memorization, grounded in the Facing History and Ourselves framework and discipline-based historical thinking practices.
Empower students to see history as relevant, contested, and deeply connected to their own lives.
Create learning experiences driven by essential questions, guiding questions, and enduring themes that spark curiosity and relevance.
Design instruction aligned with historical thinking skills, including sourcing, contextualization, corroboration, causation, and continuity and change.
Encourage students to explore multiple perspectives, examine power and identity, and develop reasoned interpretations supported by evidence.
Support productive struggle as students navigate complexity and ambiguity in historical and contemporary issues.
Build strong, trusting relationships with colleagues and students, recognizing that learning is a social and communal process.
Actively contribute to professional learning communities through co-planning, reflection, and shared inquiry around curriculum and instruction.
Foster classroom environments where students learn from one another, value diverse viewpoints, and engage in respectful dialogue even when ideas differ.
Use primary and secondary sources, case studies, and narratives to anchor learning in authentic historical inquiry.
Incorporate the Facing History scope and sequence to help students explore identity, choices, justice, and moral responsibility.
Connect past events to present-day issues, fostering civic awareness and ethical decision making.
Balance intellectual rigor with care, helping students engage with challenging content thoughtfully and responsibly.
Integrate Visible Thinking routines to make student thinking audible, visible, and valued.
Design lessons that prioritize discussion, reflection, and interpretation over lecture-driven instruction.
Establish norms that support listening, questioning, and building on others’ ideas.
Use structured discourse protocols to help all students participate confidently and equitably.
Model reflective practice by analyzing lessons, student work, and classroom dynamics to continually refine instruction.
Help students think about their thinking by reflecting on how they form interpretations, revise ideas, and grow as historians.
Incorporate self-assessment, reflection, and feedback to promote student ownership of learning.
Believe every student brings valuable experiences and perspectives to the study of history and society.
Design inclusive learning spaces that honor students’ identities and promote a sense of belonging.
Use culturally responsive practices and formative assessment to support all learners while maintaining high expectations.
Approach Social Studies as a vehicle for empathy, agency, and social responsibility.
Engage in ongoing professional learning related to Facing History and Ourselves, historical inquiry, and equitable instruction.
Reflect on curriculum coherence, instructional strategies, and classroom culture to increase student engagement and depth of thinking.
Collaborate with colleagues to ensure alignment across grade levels and a shared, student-centered vision for the Social Studies program.